Syrian Man Blows Himself Up Outside German Concert Authorities say 27-year-old set off device that also injured 12 after being denied entry to Ansbach event By Anton Troianovski
http://www.wsj.com/articles/one-dead-several-injured-by-explosion-in-germany-1469403515
BERLIN—Authorities said a 27-year-old Syrian man tried to enter an outdoor concert in southern Germany and then blew himself up, injuring 12 people, in what appeared to be this country’s first suicide bombing in years.
The bombing took place in central Ansbach, a small town in the state of Bavaria that was hosting a concert that attracted 2,000 people on Sunday night.
Just after 10 p.m., the man sought to enter the concert but couldn’t get in, Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told reporters early Monday morning in Ansbach. Investigators believe the man then set off a bomb that killed him and injured 12, three of them seriously, Mr. Herrmann said.
No one had life-threatening injuries, officials said.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether the man was only seeking to kill himself or also to hurt others, Mr. Herrmann said.
But investigators were looking into whether the blast was motivated by Islamist extremism, he said.
The man had come to Germany two years ago and applied for asylum. His asylum application was rejected last year but he wasn’t deported because of the civil war in Syria, as is standard practice in Germany, Mr. Herrmann said.
The man was already known to the police, he said, because he had twice been treated in a hospital after trying to take his life. He was also known because of a previous drug misdemeanor, a police spokeswoman said.
The spokeswoman said the police have formed a 30-person task force supported by state police, who would help analyze the explosive device, which was filled with metal clamps. The bomber’s mobile phone and other technical devices were also being analyzed and police were searching the refugee shelter where he resided, she said.
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